Pair gets prison for fraud, stealing identities of federal employees

A Maryland man was sentenced to 12 years in prison Friday for stealing the identities of several federal employees and using them to open fraudulent credit card accounts, as well as rent cars in their name and then sell them.

According to court documents, between June of 2011 and July of 2013, Jenaro Blalock of Clinton, Md. and his partner in crime, Christopher Bush recruited women with access to identity information through their employers to steal the identities of more than 600 people.

The stolen identities primarily belonged to employees of the State Department, the Defense Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development.

According to a statement from the Justice Department, Blalock provided Bush with blank driver's licenses so he could make fraudulent licenses bearing the victims' real names, addresses and dates of birth. Blalock also opened fraudulent credit card accounts and instant retail store credit lines in the victims' names.

Members of the identity theft ring also used the fraudulent identities to rent cars, which they then sold on the black market with altered vehicle identification numbers.

In total, the Justice Department reported the identity thieves caused the victims losses of between $1 million and $2.5 million.

In October, Blalock, 31, pleaded guilty to access device fraud and aggravated identity theft. He was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton to 12 years in prison, and ordered to pay full restitution to the victims.

Bush previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced in January to 10 years in prison.